Cedar Woods project won't be externally assessed

Kim Stephens

A development application for a new "super suburb" near The Gap will not be externally assessed after City Hall's LNP administration rejected a motion proposed by Labor on behalf of residents.

Former Opposition Leader Shayne Sutton said more than 800 residents of The Gap and Upper Kedron were concerned favourable comments made by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk about the proposed Cedar Woods development represented a conflict of interest.

Bushland between Upper Kedron and The Gap earmarked for a new suburb in Brisbane's north-west. Photo: Supplied

"Fundamentally, this motion is about ensuring integrity," she said,

"I am concerned the Lord Mayor of this city would allow for comments attributed to him to be a part of a three-page Australian Stock Exchange announcement issued by a developer about a significant development application this council has to assess.

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"That is my chief concern.

"There can be no doubt in anyone's mind an independent assessment should have taken place. It has been done before, I'm not asking for anything new."

In the stock exchange announcement on May 6, Cr Quirk was quoted as saying that "Brisbane City Council looks forward to working with Cedar Woods in the next phase of the project and with the aim of creating a high-quality, master-planned community for the city."

Cr Quirk denied there was any conflict and rejected calls for an external agency to assess the application.

"The assessment process will be carried out the same as every other assessment and I have faith in council officers to undertake that assessment," he said.

"It will be adequately and properly assessed by this council."

Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the area had been identified by the state government as a future development site and it was in council's interests to take a leading role in working with the developer to guide development of the site.

"In the end the owner has development rights, there will be at some stage in the future be a development of this site," he said.

"The question for council is not whether there would be a development but how to get the best outcome, so this side will not support this motion."

Cr Schrinner said the motion was offensive to council officers, but Cr Sutton rejected his claims that she was questioning the integrity of the assessors.

"The way I read it, it implies our officers aren't using the highest standards of integrity and transparency," Cr Schrinner said.

"The process is the same as any other application, so I can't see how any question can be raised about the process or the officers involved in the process, it is the same process we use for all DAs of this nature."

LNP councillors rejected the motion, a decision Cr Sutton described as a "breathtaking display of arrogance and contempt".

More than 1350 homes have been touted for the new $900 million suburb.

The massive development is one of Brisbane’s largest proposed property projects, covering 227 hectares next to the D'Aguilar National Park, an area bigger than South Brisbane and West End combined.